The Malone College men’s and women’s cross country teams competed at the AMC/NAIA Region IX/X Championships at Tiffin University last Saturday and the men’s team pocketed an incredible 38th straight conference title at the event.  The victory, among a 15-team field, kept the men’s program’s streak alive of having never lost a conference/district/region event.  The Malone women finished runner-up among its 14-team field.
     The Pioneer men, ranked fifth in the NAIA, earned an automatic bid to the NAIA National Championships in Louisville, Kentucky while the women, ranked sixth in the NAIA, will likely earn an at-large bid to the national event based on their high national ranking.  In addition, Malone head coach Jack Hazen was again named AMC/Region Men’s Coach of the Year.
     The Malone men tallied 29 points and held off a strong Cedarville University team which finished second with 39 points.  Shawnee State University was third (97) while Walsh University and Roberts Wesleyan (NY) College tied for fourth (142 each).
     The Pioneer women finished with 29 points as Cedarville took the women’s team title with 22 points.  Geneva (PA) College placed third (100), Roberts Wesleyan was fourth (110) and Shawnee State rounded out the top five (118).
     Ryan Kienzle (Jr., GlenOak H.S.) led the men’s squad with a second-place finish overall in a time of 25:08 while Nik Schweikert (So., Beavercreek H.S.) was close behind in fourth place in 25:31.  Evan Gaynor (Fr., Delta H.S.) took fifth (25:42) and Paul Robinson (Fr., Field H.S.) came in seventh (25:46).  All four were named First Team All-AMC by virtue of their top-seven finishes.
     Christopher Sinick (Fr., Field H.S.) also scored for the team in 11th place (25:59) while Ryan Crocker (So., CVCA), who finished 14th (26:12), joined Sinick on the All-AMC Second Team.  Mike Coates (Jr., Sandy Valley H.S.) finished in 16th place (26:19) and earned All-AMC Honorable Mention honors.
     Others who competed for the men’s team included Dan McCracken (Fr., Anna H.S.) in 43rd (27:24), Justin Baum (Jr., Kenston H.S.) in 49th (27:43) and Keith Burns (So., Minerva H.S.) in 57th (28:00).
     Katie Bagley (So., Van Wert H.S.) paced the women’s squad with a third-place finish overall in a time of 18:21 while Rebekah Genter (So., Crestview H.S.) came in fifth (18:28) and Amy Iatauro (Sr., CVCA) was sixth (18:29).  The trio earned First Team All-AMC honors.  Loren Reineke (Sr., Anna H.S.) finished in ninth place (18:46) and earned a spot on the All-AMC Second Team while Sarah Hines (Fr., Northmor H.S.) finished in 16th place (19:28) to grab All-AMC Honorable Mention accolades.
     Also competing on the varsity squad were Kalie Hauenstine (Fr., Ashland H.S.), who placed 18th (19:36), and Carrie Hart (Sr., La Brae H.S.) who came in 19th (19:40).
     Others who competed for the Malone women were Lacey Watkins (Sr., Lockport, NY) in 30th (20:00), Lexi Hartline (Fr., Strasburg H.S.) in 44th (20:24) and Rachel Heflen (Sr., Orrville H.S.) in 52nd (20:44).
     This week, the men’s and women’s teams will be competing at the NCCAA National Championships in Yellow Springs, Ohio on Saturday.  The women’s race is scheduled to begin at 10:00 a.m. and the men’s race is set for 11:00 a.m.

 

     The Malone College women’s soccer team rolled to a 5-0 victory over Notre Dame (OH) College at home last Tuesday in the quarterfinal round of the NAIA Region IX/X Tournament.  With the victory, the squad then advanced to the tournament’s semifinals (as the #4 seed) on Friday afternoon where they faced off against the region’s top-seed, NAIA #5 Houghton (NY) College.  The Pioneers played an outstanding game, holding the powerful Houghton offensive attack in check for 90 minutes of regulation and two ten-minute overtime periods, marking the first time all year that the Highlanders have been shut out.  The game ended in a 0-0 tie after the second overtime, forcing a penalty kick shootout to determine which team would advance to the regional tournament’s championship game.  Houghton was able to stop two of Malone’s five penalty shot attempts (while Malone stopped one Houghton attempt) to secure the narrow 4-3 shootout win and thus end the Pioneers’ impressive postseason run in dramatic fashion.  Malone concludes its 2006 season with a 12-6-3 overall record (4-3-1 in the AMC South Division). 
     In Tuesday’s quarterfinal match, the contest remained scoreless until the 43rd minute when senior Julie Herbst (Dyer, IN) scored on a pass from Fleur Wynne-Morgan (Jr., County Kerry, Ireland) to give the Pioneers a 1-0 halftime advantage.  Aleesha Denmeade (So., North Canton Hoover H.S.) and Taryn Carlson (Sr., Poland Seminary H.S.) then combined to assist Herbst in the 49th minute to put Malone in front 2-0.  Denmeade assisted Herbst twice more on a pair of goals that came just seconds apart in the 65th minute, giving the Pioneers a commanding 4-0 lead.  Kim Beers (Fr., Green H.S.) tacked on another score in the 78th minute to cement the 5-0 win.  Malone bombarded the Notre Dame keeper with 23 shots on goal while keepers Stacy Messner (Fr., Green H.S.) and Sam Brown (So., Butler, PA) combined to make 14 saves in the shutout victory.  Notre Dame recorded 14 shots on goal and 18 saves on the day.
     In Friday’s semifinal match, Malone tallied five shots on goal while Messner stopped all 10 of Houghton’s shots on goal over 110 minutes.  In the five-round shootout, both teams scored on their first two attempts before the Houghton keeper was able to stop Malone’s third shot to give the Highlanders a 3-2 advantage after the first three rounds.  Both teams were able to score on their fourth attempts, but the Houghton keeper made the winning save on Malone’s fifth and final shot attempt to end the Pioneers’ season and send the Highlanders to the NAIA Region IX/X Championship game.

     The Malone College football team, led by first-year head coach Mike Gardner, earned a 28-16 win over Seton Hill (PA) University at home last Saturday, the squad’s sixth victory of the year.  With the victory, Malone improves its overall record to 6-3 (3-2 MSFA Mideast) and thus assures itself of its first winning season since 1998.
     The Pioneers struggled to move the ball on the ground with just 35 rushing yards in the game but found success through the air with a season-high 362 passing yards for a total of 397 offensive yards on the afternoon.  Seton Hill tallied 123 yards rushing but just 115 yards passing for 238 yards of total offense.   
     Malone opened the scoring late in the first quarter on a six-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Brad Reifsnyder (Sr., North Canton Hoover) to tight end LaRoi Johnson (Jr., Pittsburgh, PA) to put the Pioneers in front 7-0 with 4:50 remaining in the first quarter.  Malone struck again minutes later as Reifsnyder hit running back Bernard Payton (Jr., Pomona, CA) on a 13-yard touchdown strike.  Seton Hill posted a late second-quarter field goal to trim the Pioneers’ advantage to 14-3 at the half. 
     The Griffins then scored again early in the third quarter on a 26-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Garyn Ehrlich to wide receiver Samuel Tranks.  Malone was able to respond later in the quarter as Reifsnyder connected with wide receiver Derek Deardorff (So., Kenton H.S.) on a 20-yard touchdown pass to put the Pioneers in front 21-9.  After an 80-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown by Seton Hill defensive back Jamaur Law cut the lead to 21-16, Malone was able to cement the win with another touchdown pass from Reifsnyder to Payton with just 1:47 remaining in the contest.
     Reifsnyder had an outstanding afternoon under center as he broke the Malone single-game completion record by connecting on 36 of his 46 pass attempts to nine different receivers for 355 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions.  Junior wide receiver Mike Clapham (Elyria Catholic H.S.) was on the receiving end of nine of those pass completions to lead all receivers with 140 yards.  Johnson posted seven catches for 34 yards with one touchdown while Deardorff hauled in six receptions for 54 yards and one touchdown.  Payton recorded six catches for 50 yards with two touchdowns to go with 27 rushing yards on 16 attempts.
     Defensively, junior linebacker Justin Murphy (Minerva H.S.) paced the squad with seven total tackles (two solo, two TFL).  Cornerback Chris Cruise (Jr., Field H.S.) followed with five tackles (four solo) and one pass break-up.  Linebacker Dan Hromada (Jr., Padua Franciscan H.S.) returned to the line-up to record five tackles (two solo, one TFL) while safety Rayshawn Cole (Sr., Firestone H.S.) also tallied five tackles (one solo, one TFL, 0.5 sack).  Defensive lineman Brian Landies (Chardon H.S.) posted two sacks on the afternoon with fellow defensive lineman Jeff Jeffries (Jr., Meadowdale H.S.) adding one sack.  In addition, cornerback Doug Alford (So., St. Peter Chanel H.S.) and defensive lineman Niuvaai Luamanuvae (Jr., West Jordan, UT) each contributed one interception.
     This week, Malone (6-3, 3-2 MSFA Mideast) will face local rival Walsh University (9-1, 4-1 MSFA Mideast) at Fawcett Stadium this Saturday in a 12:00 p.m. match-up in which the Pioneers’ are considered the visiting team.  The winner of the contest will be awarded the Dick Gallagher Memorial Trophy (a rotating trophy), which is presented in honor of the late former Executive Director of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
     NOTE:  Malone was ranked #26 in the NAIA coming into last Saturday's game against Seton Hill.  The new rankings will be released today around 4:00 p.m. EST.  Malone will likely move up a few spots in the national rankings but will still have only an extremely slim chance of reaching the #16 spot (and an NAIA postseason bid), even if the Pioneers would defeat  Walsh next Saturday.  Malone is among several teams under consideration, though, for a possible NCCAA Victory Bowl bid.  The announcement of which two teams have received bids to the Victory Bowl, which will be played on November 18th (site TBA), will be made on Tuesday, November 7th. 
 

 

Women’s Basketball Cruises To 82-47 Win Over Point Park (PA) In Season Opener

     The Malone College women’s basketball team opened its 2006-2007 season at home on Saturday with an impressive 82-47 win over Point Park (PA) University. 
     The Pioneers opened the game shooting 53% in the first half (17-32) to take a commanding 45-24 halftime lead before cruising to the 82-47 win.  Nikki Parson (Sr., Garaway H.S.) paced Malone with 19 points (8-9 FG, 1-1 3 PT FG, 2-2 FT) in just 20 minutes of play.  Senior Kellyn Murphy (St. Vincent/St. Mary H.S.) followed with 15 points while Heather Fenner (Jr., Shelby H.S.) contributed 12 points in just eight minutes on the court.  Malone out-rebounded Point Park 46-35 as Jennifer Miday (Sr., North Canton Hoover H.S.) and Nicole Feher (So., Lutheran West H.S.) each grabbed 10 boards.  In addition, Parson dished out four assists while Erica Mishler (Sr., Hiland H.S.) and Katie Murphy (So., St. Vincent/St. Mary H.S.) each tallied three assists.
     This week, Malone (1-0, 0-0 AMC S) will travel to Roberts Wesleyan (NY) College for a pair of American Mideast Conference cross-over games.  On Friday, the Pioneers will face Roberts Wesleyan at 8:00 p.m. before taking on Houghton (NY) College on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. (game will be played at Roberts Wesleyan College).